The following U.S. Patent applications which are herein incorporated by reference are commonly owned by the Assignee of the present application:
(1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,368 entitled Surgical Stapling Apparatus With Load-Sensitive Firing Mechanism to Geoffrey C. Hueil et al.;
(2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,326, now U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0206130, entitled Surgical Stapling Apparatus With Interlockable Firing System to Steven G. Hall et al.;
(3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,001, now U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0206133, entitled Articulatable Loading Units For Surgical Stapling and Cutting Instruments to Jerome R. Morgan et al.;
(4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,066, now U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0206129, entitled Surgical Stapling Apparatus With Articulatable Components to Kevin R. Doll et al.;
(5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,030, now U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0206124, entitled Surgical Stapling Apparatus With Control Features Operable With One Hand to Steven G. Hall et al.;
(6) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/030,974, now U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0206128, entitled Surgical Stapling Apparatus With Retractable Firing Systems to Geoffrey C. Hueil et al.
Endoscopic surgical instruments are often preferred over traditional open surgical devices since a smaller incision tends to reduce the post-operative recovery time and complications. Consequently, significant development has gone into a range of endoscopic surgical instruments that are suitable for precise placement of a distal end effector at a desired surgical site through a cannula of a trocar. These distal end effectors engage the tissue in a number of ways to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect (e.g., endocutter, grasper, cutter, staplers, clip applier, access device, drug/gene therapy delivery device, and energy device using ultrasound, RF, laser, etc.).
Known surgical staplers include an end effector that simultaneously makes a longitudinal incision in tissue and applies lines of staples on opposing sides of the incision. The end effector includes a pair of cooperating jaw members that, if the instrument is intended for endoscopic or laparoscopic applications, are capable of passing through a cannula passageway. One of the jaw members receives a staple cartridge having at least two laterally spaced rows of staples. The other jaw member defines an anvil having staple-forming pockets aligned with the rows of staples in the cartridge. The instrument commonly includes a plurality of reciprocating wedges which, when driven distally, pass through openings in the staple cartridge and engage drivers supporting the staples to effect the firing of the staples toward the anvil.
Different types of surgical staplers suitable for endoscopic applications are known. For example, one type of surgical stapler employs a staple cartridge. The staple cartridge typically supports a plurality of staples oriented on both sides of a longitudinally extending slot in the cartridge body that is adapted to receive a cutting member that is driven longitudinally therethrough. As the cutting member is driven through the cartridge slot, the staples are driven upward into the anvil portion of the instrument. The cutting member may be supported on a driven member that comprises a portion of the instrument apart from the cartridge. Examples of those types of devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,057 to Jeffrey S. Swayze and Frederick E. Shelton, IV, entitled Surgical Stapling Instrument Incorporating a Firing Mechanism Having a Linked Rack Transmission and U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,075 to Jeffery S. Swayze, Frederick E. Shelton, IV, Kevin Ross Doll, and Douglas B. Hoffmnan entitled Multi-Stroke Mechanism With Automatic End of Stroke Retractions, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Other types of surgical stapling instruments are configured to operate with disposable loading units (DLU's) that are constructed to support a cartridge and knife assembly therein. Such devices that are designed to accommodate DLU's purport to offer the advantage of a “fresh” knife blade for each firing of the instrument. An example of such surgical stapling instrument and DLU arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No, 5,865,361 to Milliman et al., the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Such disposable loading units are sterilized and packaged in sterile packaging materials prior to use. Likewise, the surgical stapling instrument is also sterilized prior to use. After the disposable loading unit is used, it is discarded. While the prior surgical stapling instruments could also conceivably be re-sterilized for additional uses, those prior instruments such as those described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,361 and other known instruments adapted for use with disposable loading units are not well-suited for easy disassembly to facilitate sterilization of their various internal components. Consequently, such units are often disposed of after a single use.
Thus, there is a need for a surgical stapling apparatus that is adapted for use with disposable loading units and which can be readily disassembled and re-sterilized.